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Finding Prayer in the Stillness

stillness as an opportunity for prayer

The warmth of the sun on a crisp fall afternoon stirs my soul. It’s my favorite time of day, when chores are done and there is a long break before dinner. I often sit on the porch with a book in my lap, but I rarely get around to any reading. I close my eyes from the glare on the page, and I feel myself relaxing into a waking dream-state.

In those moments, I find myself in the thin place, that state where the line between heaven and earth dissolves, and I feel God’s presence in the quiet and stillness. It doesn’t last very long, as a dog barking or a siren in the distance brings me back to the present, but the peace remains.

I Struggle to Show Up in Prayer

I’ve struggled lately with finding a time to pray. Oh, I have plenty of time. My work is flexible and my obligations few. So why is this such a difficult thing? I think my need for prayer and the practice of it, has suffered in this season of my life. When my family was young and our schedules were busy with activities, I had a robust prayer life. It seems the busier I got, the more I needed prayer.

St. Francis de Sales is often credited with saying that we should pray especially in the busyness of life. I’m no longer running late while trying to get young children out of the house and on the school bus. I’m not fighting traffic to get to work on time. I’m not scrambling to get dinner together after forgetting to take out the roast in the morning.

Making the Time for a Conversation with God

In the midst of the demands of raising a family, I made the time to pray. Now, I put off prayer to focus on the distractions. I think that I will have time later to dedicate myself to a Rosary or spiritual reading, but I rarely get to it, allowing the next distraction to occupy my time.

Maybe that’s the crux of my problem—when life slows down, I find myself in a place where the need for prayer feels less urgent. Prayer is not something reserved for moments of crisis or busyness; it is the quiet conversation with God that sustains us in all seasons.

Therefore, when you make ready to pray, you must say with your whole heart, “God is indeed here.”― Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life.

Today, my life presents me with the opportunity to pray for others, especially my loved ones. I have found praying through my vocation to be helpful. I pray for my husband, my children, and my grandchildren. I pray for my mother, the repose of my father’s soul, my siblings, nieces and nephews, and my aunts and uncles and cousins. I pray for my dear friends. More often than not, it is a spontaneous “God bless my dear one,” whenever I think of someone. It’s not elegant nor eloquent, but it is intimate and special.

Sitting on my porch, bathed in the warmth of the afternoon sun, I’m reminded that prayer doesn’t have to be rigid or scheduled. It can be as simple as a sigh, a thought, or a moment of gratitude. In these still moments, I realize that God is always waiting, gently calling me to Him. It is an opening for praise and thanksgiving.

I used to think that prayer was something I had to make time for, but now I see that it’s something that permeates all time. It’s in the pauses between thoughts, in the fleeting peace of a quiet afternoon, and in the thin places where heaven and earth meet. All I need to do is show up.

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Review: The Violinist

Stories of Solanus Casey

You might say that Blessed Solanus Casey strikes a “charming chord.” Imagine a humble Capuchin friar with an intense love for playing the violin—even if, as his friends gently put it, it was scratchy. He played despite a lack of great skill, demonstrating something quintessentially human in this holy man. He played without concern for his lack of virtuosity. He was unashamed of his imperfections. This delightful short film, The Violinist: Stories of Solanus Casey, by the Augustine Institute, captures that very spirit of Solanus, presenting him as both deeply relatable and spiritually magnetic.

Blessed Solanus Casey was known for helping countless souls in need, offering comfort and aid to people from all walks of life. What makes this film special is the deeply personal way it brings Solanus’ story to life through the experiences of three individuals who had meaningful encounters with him.

The film tells a part of Blessed Solanus’ life through encounters with three people who knew him. We are introduced to his niece, who first met him at a family reunion when she was just 15. She knew of him and was looking forward to meeting this priest that was larger than life. When he joined his siblings at the family picnic, what stood out most was that he was just a regular guy. Fr. Solanus would eventually be instrumental in her decision to enter the convent, a decision that she came to after his gentle listening and urging that her decision was between her and God alone. Next, we meet a plucky Irish woman who came to the United States as a girl, leaving behind a childhood of hard work in search of opportunity in a new country. Fr. Solanus proved to be a great influence in her life, modeling the virtue of helping others. Finally, we meet a brother Capuchin friar who lived with Fr. Solanus in Detroit. One Christmas, he encountered Fr. Solanus, alone in the church late at night, playing his violin for the child Jesus. He was moved to how much his brother friar loved the Lord.

Solanus’ quirky love for the violin adds warmth and humor to the narrative. This friar didn’t play to impress but to express his joy, despite his lack of skill. His simple, sometimes off-tune performances were a small testament to his childlike heart. At a time when people often think saints must be perfect, Solanus shows us that holiness is a journey for the wholehearted, not the flawless. The violin is symbolic of his life: sometimes awkward, not always pitch-perfect, but always offered with love.

Through the lens of these three individuals and the humility of a man who embraced life’s imperfections, the film paints a portrait of Solanus Casey as a saint for our times. With a simple yet profound faith, he listened and helped, bringing God’s light into the darkest of situations.

Florissant, MO, October 23, 2024— At a time when the Church turns its attention in a special way toward the heroic and virtuous lives of the many holy men and women who make up the Communion of Saints, the Augustine Institute, in partnership with Digital Continent, announces the release of a new documentary series called “Based on a True Saint.”  Through captivating illustrations, photography, video, and immersive storytelling, the new series uncovers the lives of saints (and soon-to-be saints) from the people who actually knew them in real life.  Ahead of All Saints Day and his November birthday, Blessed Solanus Casey leads the way as the featured subject in the first installment of the series now available on Formed, the Augustine Institute’s on-demand streaming platform.
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Creative Ways to Evangelize: The Tiny Jesus Mission

A tiny rubber figurine of Jesus changed the way I evangelize.

In my work as a writer, I am content to sit behind the scenes. I am emboldened to speak my mind or share my deepest longings on the page in a way I would never do face-to-face with a stranger. I share my love of Jesus and the Blessed Mother joyfully in an article or a book, but I am shy when it comes to talking with others about my faith.

Enter Jesus, or rather, a kitschy little version of Him.

Who doesn’t love a pocket-sized Jesus?

This past summer, while helping my daughter do some back-to-school shopping for her children and her classroom, I bought a dozen tiny Jesus figurines to add to her treasure box in the classroom. It was an impulse buy, but I was charmed by the figurines and thought some of the lower grade kids would like them, too. They did! And within a week she was out of this little treasure.

It was about that time that I started seeing these same little Jesus figurines pop up on social media. Apparently, someone took inspiration from the ducks-on-a-Jeep trend (Jeep owners place rubber duckies on each other’s cars as a nod to their Jeep loyalty), and started placing Tiny Jesus in public spaces.

Becoming intrepid missionaries

My husband immediately ordered three bags of the figurines. The large bag went to our daughter for the classroom, and he and I each got our own smaller bag. Thus began a fun and, I think, impactful way to evangelize.

I started this mission with some trepidation. What if I got caught while placing Jesus in a random spot? What if the business owner thought I was up to something? What if I made people angry or offended them?

What if I spread a little joy?

That’s exactly what happened. I don’t know what the reaction has been to Tiny Jesus placed in bookshelves, public bathrooms, and self-checkouts, but the inevitable happened. I got caught!

When I finished putting stamps on some letters at the counter in the post office, I took out a Tiny Jesus and placed it a little off to the side but visible to the clerk.  I was surprised by a gleeful laugh from behind. The clerk had walked around behind me to replace some forms and caught me leaving the figurine for her.

The conversation that followed was animated and cheerful. “Oh, it’s a tiny little Jesus!” Her delighted exclamation made me laugh with her. And then she wanted to know all about what I was doing sneaking Jesus around like that. She even looked up the figurines and ordered a bag right then and there, excited to join in this fun evangelization game.

Am I converting souls with this little game? Well, we know that’s for the Holy Spirit. What I do know is I am bringing joy to the people open to receiving this little gift. So far, everyone I’ve encountered already knows Jesus, so why bother? Because any opportunity for bringing up our Lord is a beautiful moment of engagement. I’ll never know the impact of this game, but that’s not the point.

I discovered an important element to this mission: it has engaged my family. My husband pops a figure in his pocket when he goes out to run errands. My daughter plans to place her Tiny Jesus figures all over the school for the students to find, but my heart burst when my grandson took his Tiny Jesus and wanted to give it away immediately. In a sweetly unintended way, he has learned to be joyful in sharing his faith. That’s enough to keep me stocking Tiny Jesus for the next surprise encounter.

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